


Over the Rainbow

by Ellimac



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 04:28:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5854243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellimac/pseuds/Ellimac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl and Rose attempt to fuse for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Over the Rainbow

Pearl has never fused before. Why would she? Who would want their _Pearls_ to fuse? The very notion is patently ridiculous. Pearls don’t fight; they have no reason to fuse. And even she, a Pearl who fights, has not once thought of the possibility of fusing. There have been no other Pearls to fuse with, after all.

But now, with the image of that Ruby and Sapphire fusing to make an entirely new gem still fresh in her mind, something has changed. Something is fundamentally different, and she knows exactly what it is: the possibility exists that she could fuse with Rose Quartz.

She almost doesn’t dare think it. Rose Quartz is unique and important; Pearl is… well, a Pearl. But, she reasons, they are not on Homeworld anymore, and Rose doesn’t treat her like a Pearl. She treats her like her own gem. Besides, Rose seemed just as intrigued by the fusion as Pearl was, if not more so.

Pearl resolves to ask her about it once they get back to base. But before she can, Rose stops in the middle of a meadow and turns to her with shining eyes.

“That fusion,” she says. “It’s incredible. Wasn’t she beautiful?”

“She was certainly something,” Pearl says. “I didn’t even know fusion between two different gems was _possible_.”

“Nor did I! Isn’t it amazing?” Rose grabs Pearl’s shoulders. “Pearl—we should try it. We should fuse.”

Pearl blinks in surprise. “Really?”

“Certainly! There’s nothing like trying, is there? Come on—we’ll do what they did.” She takes Pearl’s hand and leads her to the edge of the meadow. Once there, she takes Pearl’s other hand and begins to spin. Pearl, a bit startled by Rose’s eagerness, takes a moment to find her feet. Once she does, she looks at Rose to find her beaming at her, and she laughs all the way to the other edge of the meadow.

But they don’t fuse.

Rose doesn’t let go of Pearl’s hands. “What did we do wrong?”

“I… I don’t know,” Pearl says. Struck with a sudden thought, she adds, “Maybe Pearls _can’t_ fuse.”

Rose frowns. “That’s nonsense. You’re a gem like anyone else. We’ll just have to try again.”

So they do. They spin across the meadow again, and again, and again. Pearl is starting to get frustrated, but Rose doesn’t want to give up.

“I’m sure we can do it,” she says. “I’m sure of it.”

Pearl would dearly like to believe her, but deep down she is certain that it’s her fault. Pearls can’t fuse. What possible reason would they have for it? They can try and try, but they will accomplish nothing but twirling.

Finally, as Rose tries to tug her into another spin, Pearl pulls back. “It’s no use,” she says, defeated. “I just can’t do it, Rose. I’m not made for fusing.”

“Oh, Pearl…” Rose puts her hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think that’s true.”

“It _is_ ,” Pearl says. “Why else wouldn’t we be able to fuse? I’m just not built for it.”

“You weren’t built for fighting, either,” Rose reminds her.

Pearl looks up at her. “But fighting is something you can _learn_.”

“How do you know fusion isn’t?” Rose sits down and pats the grass beside her for Pearl to sit, as well. “You know—Sapphires aren’t built for fusing, either. But she seemed to manage all right.”

Pearl’s hand tightens in the grass. “But she’s—she’s a normal gem.”

“Oh, Pearl—” Rose leans down to press her lips to Pearl’s forehead. It’s something she picked up from the native species here; she calls it a “kiss.” “You’re right. You’re not a normal gem. You’re an _extraordinary_ gem.”

Pearl blushes. “I—thank you.”

“Let’s try again,” Rose says gently. “But this time… well, let’s just try what comes naturally.”

So Pearl gets up, and Rose takes her hands, and they begin again. This time, the spinning is much slower, and Pearl focuses on Rose’s face rather than where she is going; and when Rose lets go of one of her hands and moves the other up, it seems only natural for her to go into her own spin, guided by Rose’s hand. Rose giggles, and Pearl smiles at her, thinking that even if this doesn’t work (and in her heart she is still sure that it won’t), it will have been worth it, to dance with Rose.

Rose spins her again, in the other direction, and this time Pearl takes some initiative and lets herself fall back, knowing that Rose will catch her. And Rose does, leaning over so that their faces are mere inches apart. Pearl isn’t nearly as excited by the whole “kissing” thing as Rose is, but with their lips almost touching anyway, it seems only the next logical step; but as their lips touch, their physical forms begin to dissolve, and as the light that is left forms into a new being, Pearl’s last thought as herself is, _This kissing business is much better than I gave it credit for_.

And then only one being stands in the meadow, blinking out at the world with four brand new eyes.

She looks down at herself. She is barefoot, and her dress ends shortly above her knees, seeming to grow thinner and thinner until it fades into nothing. She is splashed all over with color, pink and blue and white, and when she pulls down a lock of her hair, she sees that it too is wildly colorful, a vibrant mix of pink and orange.

She thinks, _I’m beautiful_ , and laughs out loud.

She starts to run across the meadow. She is taller than she is used to being, but that doesn’t stop her; there is no one to see her trip and fall except herself. And when she has run enough, she lies down in the grass and stares up at the sky.

It is there that she falls apart.

It happens very suddenly. One moment she is almost closing her eyes, prepared to rest under the beautiful sky, and the next her eyes are wide open, and she exclaims out loud, “Oh, no!” before dissolving back into Pearl and Rose. Pearl, of course, immediately starts fretting about it.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I must have done something wrong.”

But Rose only laughs, and rolls over to get close to Pearl again. “I’m sure it wasn’t your fault. Or if it was, it was equally mine as well. I could feel—or she could feel—that we were—she was—getting a little anxious.” She smiles at Pearl. “For a first time fusing, I think we did pretty well, don’t you?”

“I had no idea it felt like that,” Pearl says. “That was… oh, that was incredible.”

“It was amazing,” Rose agrees. A mischievous smile crosses her face. “Do you want to try again?”

This time, Pearl grins back at her. “I’d love to.”


End file.
